Posts Categorized: Archives

As discussion of President Trump’s plan for a wall between the United States and Mexico continues, the administration has considered new ideas to fund the project. One option is to declare a national state of emergency and divert funds already allocated for disaster relief to the construction of the wall. The Army Corps of Engineers… Read more »

The federal nutrition assistance program operating in states – the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – is an entitlement program that can expand to accommodate changing needs. Individuals who qualify based on their financial situation can always join the program. After an unexpected emergency – such as a hurricane – the program is available to all U.S. citizens… Read more »

Some Puerto Rico issues are high on the agenda of the Democratic majority that took control of the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday. Most of the discussion concerns the Federal response to the devastating Hurricane Maria: investigation of the perceived slow delivery of assistance and needs that have not been addressed, including the President’s reluctance… Read more »

The PROMESA Financial Board (FOMB) recently sent a strong reply to six of the 34 congressional Democrats who wrote a critical letter to the board three weeks ago. The congressional letter was organized by the incoming chairman of the House committee with jurisdiction regarding PROMESA, Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), and signed by three senators who are… Read more »

One of the common excuses for treating Puerto Rico differently from states is that Puerto Ricans do not pay federal income tax in the same way that stateside Americans do. This is federal law. At first glance, it appears that the federal law benefits Puerto Ricans. After all, who wants to pay income taxes? The… Read more »

The new House Rules for the 116th Congress were posted this week. One of the new rules is a change affecting Puerto Rico’s Resident Commissioner: Section 102. Changes to the Standing Rules. Notification of Convening of the House. Subsection (a) clarifies that Delegates and the Resident Commissioner must be notified of action regarding the convening… Read more »

Many of the most popular stories at Puerto Rico Report in 2018 were the articles that answer questions and confusions a lot of Americans still have about the relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico. Is Puerto Rico a Country? How Did Puerto Rico Become a U.S. Territory? Is Puerto Rico Part of the… Read more »

A visitor to Puerto Rico, Otto Schoenrich, brought back word of the local cuisine to his local paper in Baltimore. Puerto Rico had recently become a U.S. possession, and people in the States were curious about the way of life in the new territory. The New York Times published the article the day after Christmas,… Read more »

The Census Bureau’s newest population estimates claim that the number of residents in Puerto Rico fell by nearly 130,000 between July 2017 and July 2018. This comes to a 3.9% drop in population in a single year. Puerto Rico had a population of 3,726,157 in 2010. The current population stands at 3,195,153. This is a total loss… Read more »

The PROMESA oversight board has written to Puerto Rico Family Department Secretary Glorimar Andújar Matos calling for a work requirement to be tied to the Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP). The certified commonwealth fiscal plan includes such a requirement. The letter was preceded by publication of an opinion piece in the Washington Post by… Read more »